The flag was designed in 1898
after the Americans and Spaniards ended their war and the United States
promised an independence. It was only in 1946 that the independence
was completed.

The
symbols of the flag

an
eight rayed sun

three
golden stars

a
red stripe

a
blue stripe

a
white triangle

The
sun represents the beginning of
a new era of self determination.

The
8 rays on the sun stand for the
8 provinces that rose in revolt against Spanish rule in the late
19th century.

The 3 stars stands for the 3 principal geographic areas of the
country; Luzon, the
Visayas and Mindanao.

The
colours in the flag

The
colour white represents peace and purity

The
red stripe represents courage and bravery

The
blue stripe is for noble ideals

One country, two flags!

Probably
unique in the world is that a country has a flag for peacetime and a flag for
wartime. The flag showed above is, let us hope, the one we'll see
always. Blue on the top stands for peacetime. In wartime the flag will have the
red stripe on thetop.

The national anthem,
"Lupang Hinirang"Composed by Julian Felipe on June 12,
1898

In 1521 the Spanish period started with the arrival of a small fleet in
the coastal waters of Cebu island. After a period of struggle, the
organized resistance of the locals was definitely broken in 1565.

A long period of Spanish influence followed. Colonial buildings and
religious places gave the Philippines, at that time called 'Las
Islas Felipinas', more and more a Spanish and Catholic character.

Liberty, brought by the Americans?

After 327 years under Spanish rule, the Spanish-American War ended the
Spanish colonial period. The Filipinos thought that they won
independence in 1898. But that was a wishful thinking! The
Philippines was controlled by the Americans from 1900-1942. Then a short
Japanese occupation period 1942-1945 followed, before the
Americans defeated the Japanese army. Freedom at last! In 1946 the
people of the Philippines attained their independence, 148 years later
than the freedom which was written down by Julian Felipe in the "Lupang
Hinirang".